‘You Say You Can Beat Trump — Are You The Only One?’ Reporter Brings Up Age, Polls at Biden Presser

ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce brought up age and poll numbers as she asked President Joe Biden if he thinks he’s “the only one” who can beat former President Donald Trump.

On Tuesday morning, President Biden officially launched his long-teased 2024 reelection campaign with a campaign video that hit a lot of familiar notes, and whose title may end up serving as a de facto campaign slogan: “Let’s Finish the Job.”

The launch comes amid intense media attention to Biden’s age and polls casting doubt on the appetite for a reelection bid.

At a joint press conference with President Yoon of the Republic of Korea Wednesday afternoon, Biden fielded Bruce’s questions by calling the questions legitimate, but pointing to his record and the themes from his launch video:

MARY BRUCE: Thank you, Mr. President. You recently launched your reelection campaign. You’ve said questions about your age are legitimate and your response is always “Just watch me.”.

But the country is watching. And recent polling shows that 70% of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, believe you shouldn’t run again. What do you say to them? What do you say to those Americans who are watching and aren’t convinced? You’ve said you can beat Trump again. Do you think you’re the only one?

PRESIDENT BIDEN: I may not be the only one, but I know him well and I know the danger he presents to our democracy. And we’ve been down this road before. And with regard to the age, you know, and polling data I notice, the polling that I keep hearing about is that I’m between 42 and 46% favorable rating, etc.. And but everybody running for reelection in this time has been in the same position. It’s nothing new about that. You’re making it sound like Biden is really underwater. That’s number one.

Number two, when the same polling data asks whether they think, what kind of job I’ve done indicates overwhelmingly positive results from 58%, think everything from the CHIPS Act and all the things we’ve done, you know, we’ve created like I said, we’ve created 12 million new jobs. We created 800,000 manufacturing jobs. We have economic growth moving. We’re in a situation where the climate, we’ve invested more money and more help in dealing with the climate crisis than any nation in the world. And so things are moving.

And the reason I’m running again is there’s a job to finish. The other thing is that, look, you know, think about what I inherited when I got elected. I inherited a nation in overwhelming debt at the time, number one in the hole for the four years that he was president. I hear it in a nation that had a serious loss of credibility around the world and America first. And, you know, the first meeting I attended the G-7, I said America is back. And one of the world leaders said, “For how long? For how long? There’s a great concern about the United States being able to lead the free world, and we’re doing that again. And those same polls you look at, you take a look at the polls are saying whether I pulled together NAITO and the European Union as well as Asian partners, I think we have. But there’s more to do.

And with regard to age, I can’t even say, I guess, how old I am. I can’t even say the number I’ve done. It doesn’t register with me. And but the only thing I can say is that one of the things that people are going to find out, we’re going to see a race and they’re going to judge whether or not I have it or don’t have it. I respect them taking a hard look at it. I take a hard look at as well. I took a hard look at it before I decided to run. And I feel good and I feel excited about the prospects. And I think we’re on the verge of really turning the corner in a way we haven’t in a long time.

I know you’re tired of hearing me say we’re at an inflection point but we really are. What happens in the next two, three, four years is going to determine what the next three or four decades look like. And I am, never been more optimistic in my life about the possibilities of the United States.

MARY BRUCE: To be clear, though, you just said I know him well. Did Donald Trump’s decision to run affect yours? Would you be running if he wasn’t?

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Yeah, I think I still would be running if he wasn’t. And I do know him well. He’s not hard to know, as you know. You know him well, too. And the question is whether or not, look, you’re just. There’s more to finish the job. We have an opportunity to put ourselves in a position where we are economically and politically secure for a long time.

Look, we continue to have, I know, you don’t like me, hear me saying it. There’s still a contest between autocracies and democracies and we’re the leading democracy in the world. And it’s something I know a fair amount about, something I care about, and something that I have found a willingness of an awful lot of our allies and friends to follow. So I think that, you know, we have to finish the job and nail it down.

Watch above via CNN.